Springboks great on taking exception to Finn Russell’s ‘cheeky’ Parisian bar quip and the comment that ‘put everyone over the edge’ in rivalry with Ireland

Springboks great Steven Kitshoff has recalled the fiercely protective South African approach that resulted in a Parisian bar bust-up with Scotland’s Finn Russell and the comment that ignited their tempestuous rivalry with Ireland.

The 34-year-old double Rugby World Cup-winning prop retired from playing in 2025 due to injury and he is now promoting his autobiography, Kitsie: Memoir of a Bomb-Squad Bok.

Among the spicier vignettes in the book is his recall of an incident in France with Scottish No.10 Russell and also why South Africa’s rivalry flared up after a 2017 loss in Dublin. He also verified Eben Etzebeth’s claim that